The Lesser Violetear is a small hummingbird, about 11 cm long, found in the Andes from Colombia to Bolivia. In Peru it occurs in humid montane forest on the eastern slope and at high forest edges in the northwest.
Its body is bright green, with violet tufts on the cheeks and around the ears. It lacks a blue patch at the center of the belly; the undertail coverts are brown, the tail is square and two-toned, and the black bill is slightly curved.
In Peru it is uncommon along humid montane forest edges at roughly 1,300–2,800 m on the eastern Andes. In Piura and Cajamarca it also occurs on the western slope at about 1,400–2,500 m.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.